When Somebody Loved Me
by IronAmerica
Summary: Templeton had a wife named Carol. Even though she's nuts, they still loved each other.


It's a new story! Templeton Jackson had a wife named Carol. He loved her.

Un-beta'ed, so quibble away.

- o – o -

When Somebody Loved Me

_Year One_

Templeton Jackson was not the kind of guy you'd expect to survive chaos. He'd been studying philosophy—his last year at college, actually—when the power went out. Despite the blackout and the chaos that followed it, Templeton had actually thrived. The man had a surprising vicious streak hidden under his scholarly façade. Templeton finds work as a mercenary pretty quickly, even though the work is sporadic. He feels guilty about hurting so many people, of being a vicious thug, but he needs to eat more then he needs to feel good about himself. His philosophy professor would be horrified and proud of him in turns, Templeton thinks.

_Year Two_

The first time Templeton meets Carol Hall, she tries to cut his head off. Given that they're hunting the same deer, it's understandable. Carol, who's the size of a tree with the weight and strength to match, tells him to stay out of her neck of the woods. Templeton, nursing bruises and a broken nose, agrees. He leaves with his stomach growling. When he stops for the night on one of the old bridges in the city that used to be Pittsburgh, he finds a few strips of dried jerky in his pack. Templeton eats them slowly, trying not to puke them up from the pain he's in, from finally having something to eat after a week. Even with his fighting abilities, he's still not too good at hunting or gathering, and not many people want a mercenary right now. He keeps the thoughts of the woman who must have gotten the meat into his pack without him noticing out of his mind. He has to stay out of the lush farmland she lives in, but he wishes he could thank her for her generosity when she could have just slit his throat and taken his supplies.

_Year Three_

Templeton joins the Monroe Militia the second he hears they exist. It's not good pay, and he's likely to get a beating from one of the training officers for not being fast enough, but there's enough food to keep him from starving, and he's got a roof over his head, even if the roof is canvas and leaks when it rains too hard. A roof is better then no roof at all. He, like the other recruits, learns to dread the arrival of the Amazons from Pittsburgh. They're all psychotic, and women should not be that terrifyingly good at killing. Of course, this is after the world turned upside down and inside out, so it doesn't matter.

_Year Four_

Big Carol drags him out of the bar by his ear, just after he rises the to the rank of corporal. Everyone who survived the battle with the Clarke Militia is getting free booze, so he's naturally a little miffed at being taken away from the wonderful ambrosia that is home-brewed beer.

She presses him against the wall with a hungry look on her face, and speaks. "You're clean shaven and you smell nice. Want to have sex?" Templeton's too taken-aback by the question to argue. The next day, he learns that, not only is she the crazy bitch with the bow who took his deer two years ago, she's also the leader of the Amazon Mercenaries. He's in free beer for months after the news spreads.

_Year Five_

Corporal Templeton Jackson's acquired a reputation as a hard ass and a crack-shot with a muzzle-loading rifle. When the Amazons come back to Kimberton to show off _their_ newest prides, he doesn't think he'll be able to screw their general again. It was a one-time thing, he assumes. That assumption goes right out the window when Carol, who's gotten taller and broader since he last saw her up close, grabs him by the collar and drags him off to her tent for…several rounds of marathon sex. Templeton finds a lawyer after that and draws up a will. And a contract of mutually exclusive sex that he presents to Carol when she finds him at his usual spot in the pub. Instead of killing him, she cuts her palm open with the massive knife (a short sword for anyone else) and does the same to his. As their blood mingles and creates a mess as it drips down to the table, Carol signs the contract with a smirk. Templeton's reputation reaches mythological proportion when news of the contract leaks out. He doesn't question his bedmate when she comes back to their tent several hours later then usual, licking blood off her teeth and in a randy mood.

_Year Six_

Templeton relishes the fact that he can go through Amazon-held territory whenever he wants, without having to pay a toll. The downside is that he's the Militia courier to Pittsburgh because of his privilege. On the upside, he gets to learn some tricks from the Amazon's training masters (and he's never appreciated the lobster plating on his Kevlar vest that protects his crotch so much in his life), and Carol is always willing to let him stay and rest before he rides the last stretch of road to Pittsburgh. Not that he rests, though. That contract of mutual exclusivity comes in handy. Even if he's a little leery of her, he'd still have Carol's back in a fight. He trusts her, and she returns the respect. She's a better commander than General Monroe, although Templeton will never admit that to anyone. Even Carol.

_Year Seven_

The bear cub proves to be the greatest thing in the world. Templeton doesn't even remember _why_ he kept the critter, or why he convinced his commander—the then-Captain Faber—to let him keep it. He understands why when they pass through Eden Hall. Carol—and Templeton still has trouble remembering just _how_ Carol went from General Hall to plain Carol—is enthralled with the tiny bear cub. Within an hour, it's following her around, tripping over the ribbon that Templeton had tried to tie around its neck in a bow. The Militia company is delayed for three days when Carol surprises _everyone_—including Templeton himself—by dragging her man into the chapel to get hitched. Even though she swears there will never be kids, Templeton knows she's already got one. She calls the cub Templeton Junior (which Templeton does, admittedly, find to be a bit creepy); everyone else calls the bear cub its' "Momma's little psycho". Both names stick. So does the marriage. Templeton is forced into a quartermaster's course when the rest of the Militia finds out. He kind of misses the courier route after that.

_Year Eight_

Watching his wife lay in a medical tent, struggling for breath and clinging to life is the hardest thing Templeton has ever had to do. He's excused from his duties so he can sit next to her. She spends most of the time unconscious or sleeping, and Templeton prays that she stays unconscious. Carol's too strong to show as much pain as she is. Templeton holds her hand when she's awake, and doesn't pull away even when his fingers go numb. He can't stand to watch her crying in pain. She has every right to—he doesn't know anyone who could stand the pain from having a fourteen-inch gash in their leg that's inches deep. Templeton stays next to her when the infection sets in, bathing her forehead with a cold cloth. The damn bear sits on the other side of her bed, nosing her shoulder occasionally.

No one blames Templeton when he joins the group that hunts down the Greensburg Militia. He's promoted to the rank of sergeant when he personally delivers the commander's head to General Monroe. Carol pulls through several weeks later, although she'll walk with a limp for the rest of her life.

_Year Nine_

Sergeant Jackson learns why no one messes with the Amazons or their possessions when the rebels capture him. He spends weeks locked in a dank cellar with his hands cuffed to a pipe behind his back. His knees are numb from the cold and pain by the end of two months, but he still refuses to break under their interrogation. Templeton remembers the first years after the blackout with startling clarity by the time his stomach has stopped growling. He's lightheaded and dizzy when the rebels drag him out of the house's cellar.

The sergeant is sure they're going to execute him, just for the crime of being in the Militia. His only regret is that he hasn't been able to screw his wife—although he knows she'll probably get over it soon. She likes him, but… His train of thought cuts off when he hears the cavalry charge from a bugle and the Amazons come crashing into the clearing surrounding the house. His wife, his big, beautiful Carol, personally shoots the two Rebels holding him on the ground. If his mates had been around, Templeton would have insisted that he sit behind her on the horse (he still doesn't know where she found a monster big enough to hold her weight), but he's too weak to argue when she cradles him in front of her on the ride back to her base camp. The rebel's hideout burns behind them.

_Year Ten_

When Carol starts acting moodier than usual, Templeton doesn't think anything of it. She's probably having a bad month, or something. Of course, that doesn't mean much—there's a reason his wife is called "Bear" behind her back. She's got a bad temper, although he's never been on the receiving end of one of her beatings, for which he is grateful. Then he learns that she's pregnant. He doesn't know how it happened—both of them have been careful. Neither of them want children—not until the world settles down and isn't so chaotic, and is actually _safe_ for the little anklebiters, and even then, only Templeton is enthusiastic about the idea of a passel of kids—so they found any contraceptives they could. Carol murders the healer who sold her the Queen Ann's Lace seeds, all the while calmly explaining to the woman's terrified assistants why they should learn to tell the difference between Queen Ann's Lace and whatever they've been selling her.

Everything goes back to normal soon after. Templeton doesn't admit it to anyone, but he's kind of sad that he won't have a kid to raise. The Militia has a lot of single parents in it's ranks, and he'd have been happy to look after the kid while Momma was off killing people. He'd be good at it too. After that, he throws himself into his work, promising that he'll make the world safe enough for kids to be a possibility. His promotion to Master-Sergeant isn't unexpected after his hard work and determination.

_Year Eleven_

Templeton gains a human-shaped puppy dog, who's almost as good as having a kid of his own. Peter Richards is fresh-faced, fifteen, and so damn eager to please his mentor. Templeton's pretty sure he could tell the kid to give General Monroe a naked lap-dance and Richards would do it, but he's not that cruel. (If Richards doesn't stop pestering him every half hour though, Templeton's sure he's going to reconsider.) Carol, who's in contract renegotiation with the general, tells him to go with the idea before _she_ kills Private Richards. After that conversation, which is what passes for their pillow talk even after four years of marriage, he takes Richards aside and explains the facts of life.

Richards becomes even more devoted, and starts willingly drilling with members of the Amazons, after that conversation. Templeton's sure he should be worried about the unwavering dedication, but hell. He's got Carol in his bed every night, and the sex is too fantastic for him to focus on anything else.

_Year Twelve_

Twelve years after the blackout, Templeton Jackson-Hall doesn't recognize himself when he looks in the mirror. In college, he'd been extremely thin and round-shouldered. He'd been a mouse, and would never have considered picking up a weapon without trying to engage in a philosophical debate on the nature of violence with one of his tormentors first. Now he's filled out—most of it muscle, although Carol's cooking when she's around will probably change that—and he's got a goatee. Carol threatens to shave it at least four times every time they're together, but she never does. He has rough calluses on his palms, and he's a fast runner. If his parents were still alive, they wouldn't recognize him anymore. He wishes he could have introduce Carol to his parents, or that he could have met hers. (Templeton's got a burning desire to find out just _what_ kind of people could raise a daughter like Carol. It's a morbid fascination that he still wants the answer to.)

He's even gotten used to the bear that is his unofficial son. The thing can always find him, no matter what he does to hide his scent. It doesn't bother him anymore.

_Year Thirteen_

Private Richards proves his worth when he steps in front of Carol and calmly shoots the man trying to kill her. His chestplate barely protects him from the knife that the bastard sticks in his ribs, but he's grinning even as the medics carry him off to the healing tent. Templeton and Carol share a long look before Carol speaks.

"Think he'd enjoy a threesome?"

It says something that Templeton doesn't drag out the contract they signed over a decade ago. He's gotten used to Carol, and he's pretty sure he knows her motivations: Money, explosions, sex, and violence.

"Sure, why not?" Templeton replies. Richards quickly becomes a part of Templeton and Carol's twisted little family, although he'll never truly be part of it. Carol thinks he needs to find a girlfriend or a boyfriend. Templeton agrees after he's kicked Richards out of his tent.

_Year Fourteen_

Templeton is _not_ happy when he's attached to Captain Neville's unit as their quartermaster and pass through Amazon territory. Carol's off on a campaign in the Plains Nations, happily slaughtering people for the big fat paycheck her company is getting from General Monroe. He was supposed to be training some of the Amazons in Militia tactics, which is a vacation compared to what he now has to go on. The Amazons he's supposed to train are disappointed, but Captain Neville isn't intimidated or impressed by the Amazons. Templeton remains in a bad mood until Private Richards requests a transfer into the unit that's looking for any Matheson in the general vicinity of Chicago. His bad mood lifts, and then vanishes when Richards hands over a letter from Carol.

Templeton wears out his welcome with the courier after six months.

_Year Fifteen_

Carol stands outside General Monroe's office, Templeton Junior sitting on the floor next to her. Her li'l psycho is an adorable creature, and she can't wait to show her husband, Templeton, just what their cub has learned to do. (She hopes he'll be just as pleased as she is when he learns that Junior's learned to load cannons and can drag them around by himself.) She waits for hours, tapping her foot impatiently against the floor, arms crossed over her chest.

Private Richards finds her out there, still waiting for Templeton. Their usual meeting place when she's in town is _always_ outside the general's office, because she's usually collecting a payment or negotiating a contract. She hasn't seen him in a year, and letters aren't enough. (His monthly letter is late, but considering that she's been moving around too much, it isn't _too_ worrisome.)

The look on his face begins to worry Carol. Templeton should have been with the boy they both consider a surrogate son (although she personally thinks he's a puppy of some kind, given human shape), arguing about their latest deployment. He's not with the private, though. He's not walking down the hall, hands held behind his back and a weak attempt at keeping his smile off his face as he tries to surprise her with flowers. Even though she prefers the sex, she does have to admit that her husband's grown on her, ever since that impulse wedding years ago.

"Carol…"

The defeated tone in Richards' voice tells Carol everything. She puts her fist through the brick outer wall of the building as he describes the boy who killed her husband. Carol is numb by the time he informs her that he got revenge on the little bastard who killed Templeton, and is completely blank on how he tortured the boy. She knows she shouldn't approve of it, though.

She shouldn't care. She's an Amazon. Templeton means nothing to her; she can find someone else who smells nice and can shave who can grace her bed. (They will _never_ be Templeton.) Carol convinces herself that she's not considering setting her baby on Danny Matheson.

She is an Amazon. And. She…

...misses Templeton.

- o – o -

So, what did you think? Good? Bad? Want to give Carol a hug and tell her it'll be alright? Drop a line and let me know.


End file.
